Go Joe Bruin
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Chronicling the Jeff Ulbrich / Roquan Smith saga

By Jake Liker

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After a great start to National Signing Day, UCLA football fans had to be asking themselves, “What could possibly go wrong?” They got an answer that they never wanted.

• • • •

The natural tendency of the crestfallen sports fan is to ask “what if?” What if something in the chain of events that led to downfall was different? What if doom could’ve been avoided?

In this case, the “what if” chain starts at the Georgia Dome on December 28th, 2014. With a playoff spot and an NFC South division title on the line, two teams with losing records were about to go head-to-head to extend their season into January.

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Mike Smith had even more at stake: his job was on the line. The head coach of the Atlanta Falcons  was on the hot seat after an elongated period of sub-par play from his team, as well as head-scratching clock management decisions from Smith himself.

Still, despite having lost 22 0f his past 32 games going back to the 2012 NFC Championship Game, Smith had a chance to hang on to his position. An improbable return to the playoffs on the heels of a 7-9 season would be the only way to have even a chance at remaining at the helm of the Falcons.

Dec 28, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith reacts to the play against the Carolina Panthers during the second half against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The Panthers defeated the Falcons 34-3. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

With everything on the line for the week 17 matchup, the Carolina Panthers marched into Atlanta and shot down the Falcons, 34-3. Mike Smith was not the coach of a playoff team, and a day later, he wasn’t the coach of any team; the Falcons gave him the boot after seven seasons.

There was another head coaching vacancy in the NFL.

• • • •

Fast forward to last Monday, and the longest head coaching vacancy of the offseason was finally filled; the Falcons hired Seattle Seahawks Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn.

Feb 3, 2015; Flowery Branch, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons team owner Arthur Blank (left) and new head coach Dan Quinn shake hands during a press conference at the Falcons Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Quinn was calling the shots now, and he retained only four members the former coaching staff. Other than those select few, Quinn was suddenly in charge of his own version of Extreme Makeover in the land of peaches.

Acting swiftly, Quinn started making a few phone calls to piece together his new staff. That’s when the Bruins get involved.

On the eve of National Signing day, the Bruins’ defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich received one of those calls. He had a choice: coach at the professional level, or stand by the high schoolers he recruited.

These two roads converge in Montezuma, GA, home to 4-star outside linebacker recruit Roquan Smith. Ulbrich was the Bruins’ head recruiter of the sought-after Smith, who made his official visit to Westwood just last Friday.

No one, not even Smith, knew of the Falcons’ offer come Wednesday morning. At 8:30 AM, the recruit announced he was committing not to his hometown Georgia Bulldogs, but to UCLA.

It was almost too good to be true. According to 247 Sports, there was a 56% chance that Smith would stay local and go to Athens, compared to the 38% chance he’d end up in Westwood. But then cracks started to form in the facade; an unexpected guest showed up at Smith’s announcement ceremony.

Enter Trent Thompson, a 5-star recruit, the best one in the country. The defensive tackle committed to UGA earlier in the morning, and already he was making a pitch to Smith at Macon County High School. 

It looked as though the country was about to get answers. And then, a bombshell.

Suddenly, experts around the country began to murmur. Why hadn’t Smith signed his letter of intent yet? Would he actually flip to the Bulldogs just hours after putting on UCLA gloves and flashing a “4s up” for cameras?

It looked as though the country was about to get answers.

And then, a bombshell.

• • • •

At 11 AM, Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez reported that three men had agreed to join Quinn’s staff in Atlanta, and one of them was Ulbrich.

All of a sudden, it was too good to be true. In just a couple of hours, the twitterverse went from saying this:

To this:

To this:

 Ulbrich was leaving Los Angeles for Georgia. Smith was leaving Georgia for Los Angeles. The Bruins went into retreat mode, while the Bulldogs pounced on the opportunity. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mike Carvell, who spoke with Smith’s high school coach:

"How did Roquan find out about the report on Ulbrich and the Falcons? “He found out from the UGA coaches about it. It was real smart by them. They called him and said ‘Check this ASAP.”What about UCLA and Ulbrich? “We just got off the phone with Ulbrich. He said he hasn’t signed any papers with the Falcons. So he talked to Roquan, and he let him know that he was going to check into everything and get back to him.”Did Ulbrich confirm that he had an offer from the Falcons? “Yes, he did confirm that with us that he did have an offer. He was very candid and honest. He just hated that it broke on Social Media before he had the chance to call.”How did Roquan find out about the report on Ulbrich and the Falcons? “He found out from the UGA coaches about it. It was real smart by them. They called him and said ‘Check this ASAP.”What about UCLA and Ulbrich? “We just got off the phone with Ulbrich. He said he hasn’t signed any papers with the Falcons. So he talked to Roquan, and he let him know that he was going to check into everything and get back to him.”Did Ulbrich confirm that he had an offer from the Falcons? “Yes, he did confirm that with us that he did have an offer. He was very candid and honest. He just hated that it broke on Social Media before he had the chance to call.”"

A whirlwind of events ensued.

Ulbrich hadn’t accepted the job yet, after all.

All of a sudden, Michigan, who had a 2% chance, was right back in the race for Smith.

Ryan Newsome, a 4-star wide receiver who had just flipped his commitment from UCLA to Texas, was urging Smith over Twitter to attend the school he had just spurned.

The gales of the whirlwind continue to batter Westwood, and it looks like Bruin fans might have to watch their prized recruit slip away before their very eyes. But for now, they still have to ride out the storm. From the AJC at 2:42 PM:

"Roqaun Smith’s coach told the AJC on Wednesday evening that Smith has re-opened his recruitment, and will take a couple of days to figure things out. “He’s going to open things up with his recruiting,” Macon County’s Larry Harold said. “It’s pretty much UGA, Michigan, and Texas A&M – and UCLA is still in it. Coach Ulbrich told him that he hasn’t signed anything yet (with the Falcons), and that he hasn’t made a decision. So I think they are still in it as well. We’re going to sit back for a couple of days and see how this thing plays out.” Roqaun Smith’s coach told the AJC on Wednesday evening that Smith has re-opened his recruitment, and will take a couple of days to figure things out. “He’s going to open things up with his recruiting,” Macon County’s Larry Harold said. “It’s pretty much UGA, Michigan, and Texas A&M – and UCLA is still in it. Coach Ulbrich told him that he hasn’t signed anything yet (with the Falcons), and that he hasn’t made a decision. So I think they are still in it as well. We’re going to sit back for a couple of days and see how this thing plays out.”"

There are only two ways this ends: either Ulbrich stays in Westwood and Smith joins him, or Ulbrich leaves for Atlanta and Smith stays in the same state.

The fates of Jeff Ulbrich and Roquan Smith are inextricably intertwined.

If only the Falcons had beaten the Panthers back in December…